Sincerely, Carter (Sincerely Carter #1)(25)

She was blushing and rubbing her hands against his chest, but he wasn’t paying her any attention. He was looking at us. At me.

His eyes trailed up and down my body, taking in my soaked dress and messy hair, but it didn’t look as if he was questioning it at all. Smiling, he looked me over one last time, and then he finally turned away to address Tina.

I watched as he gave her his usual “I know goddamn well that I’m charming the shit out of you” routine: A deep stare into the eyes, a light clasp of the wrist, and a few hushed and whispered words into the left ear that almost always led to an immediate blush. Watching him do those things normally made me roll my eyes, but tonight, I was envisioning myself in her place.

What is he saying?

My eyes roamed his body again and again—taking in the black tattoos wrapped around his sculpted right arm, his muscular chest, his mouth…And I seriously began to wonder how his lips would feel against mine.

Is he really into dirty sex? Would he have told me so if he was…?

“Are you checking Carter out?” Nicole asked, interrupting my thoughts. “Is that what you’re staring at?”

“No,” I said, lying. “Just thinking about something, and for the umpteenth time, Carter is like a brother to me.”

“Brother-brother or stepbrother? Because if it’s more along the stepbrother route, you should give it a try someday. How big do you think his cock is?”

Like he was any other random guy, I let my eyes drift toward his pants, but I stopped myself. I preferred to look at his lips instead.

As if Carter could feel me staring at him, he slowly turned around and looked in our direction again. He smiled at me and I blushed. Actually blushed.

Oh my god… “I’ve definitely got to get out of here.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I…I just think I might be drunk.”

“You are drunk.”

You don’t like Carter…You don’t like Carter…There’s no way you like Carter… I tried to keep my psychotic mind in check.

“Um, Ari?” Nicole asked. “Why does it look like you’re about to get up and run away?”

“No idea…Can we please go inside?”

“Sure.” She stood up and slipped her arm in mine, slowly pulling me to my feet. “You know, I would so sleep with Carter if he wasn’t your best friend and liable to tell you all about it the next day.”

“Gee, thanks…”

“You’re totally welcome!”

Leading me across the yard like I was an elderly woman, she stopped each and every time I asked her to, and since that was at least ten times, it took us forever to make it back to the deck.

“Okay. Now, up the steps,” she said. “Right foot, left foot…No, no, no. Your right foot, Ari. That’s your left…That’s still your left…”

“What’s wrong with her?” The sound of Carter’s deep voice made me look up.

“Nothing. She’s just super drunk because she drank over ten drinks. You should’ve seen her do a body shot. It was epic with a capital ‘E’ indeed.”

“She probably didn’t eat enough before coming here, then.” He slipped his arm around my waist and carried me up the remaining steps. “No offense, but as her friend, you should’ve known that she’s a terrible hard-liquor drinking buddy. She’s the perfect definition of a lightweight.”

“I honestly had no idea…” Nicole’s cheeks turned bright red in slight shame, but her eyes zoned in on Carter’s lips. “Since I don’t want her to go to sleep just yet, I was going to get her some water and have her dance off some of the alcohol. Care to join us?”

“In a minute, sure.” His blue eyes met mine. “Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to take you home?”

If you do take me home, do you promise to have sex with me? I think I’d like to do that with you…Right now…

I silently chastised my mind’s attempted response, grateful that it had at least had enough sense to send a signal for me to bite my lip so those words wouldn’t come out.

“Ari?” Carter was still looking at me, waiting for an answer. “Do you want me to take you home?”

“No…” I managed, fully aroused by his touch—by the way his hand was rubbing my back.

“Carter…” Tina whined behind us. “Since she’s okay now, can we go get another drink together? I don’t want to go alone…”

He asked if I was okay and looked me over one last time before taking Tina down to the yard bar.

“You were right.” Nicole said, opening the door to the house. “He’s definitely like your big-brother.”

I don’t think I would ever want to sleep with my big brother…

The second I stepped inside, the mix of weed fumes, wasted alcohol, and body sweat were so strong that I felt like I was going to pass out.

To my surprise, Nicole retrieved a few bottles of water and patiently encouraged me to drink them before pulling me onto the dance floor.

White and red strobe lights were now illuminating the room, striking the walls with their brightness. And every few minutes, the DJ shouted “Get ready! Power hour is almost here!” over the bass.